


Kingdom Hearts: A Love Story

by chase_acow



Category: Kingdom Hearts, Supernatural RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fusion, Angst, Disney, First Time, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Schmoop
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-12-19
Updated: 2009-12-19
Packaged: 2017-10-04 14:47:34
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 21,434
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/31423
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chase_acow/pseuds/chase_acow
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jensen is the keyblade master, a hero who travels from world to world defeating the monsters known as Heartless and searching for his two best friends, Kane and Danneel.  At his side are two members of King JDM's elite guard, Chad, a wizard and Jared, a defender, who share the mission to blast Heartless into smithereens while looking for their missing king.  Jensen never expected to fall in love with a man, didn't even know it was possible, but he can't help himself when Jared is always there joking, helping, and keeping him focused. He just doesn't know if he can get through his own roadblocks before it's too late and Kane makes him choose between his old friends and his new ones.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Kingdom Hearts: A Love Story

**Author's Note:**

> Brief lyrics borrowed from Paul Gross. Disney characters belong to Disney and Jensen, Jared, Chad, Kane, and Danneel belong to themselves.

**Title**: Kingdom Hearts: A Love Story  
**Fandom**: Supernatural RPS and Kingdom Hearts  
**Word Count**: ~ 21,000  
**Rating**: NC-17  
**Pairings**: Jensen/Jared  
**Warnings**: Disney characters! Spontaneous musical numbers! True Love!

 

**Check out the adorable drawings that [](http://www.livejournal.com/users/adrenalineshots/profile)[**adrenalineshots**](http://www.livejournal.com/users/adrenalineshots/) did [here](http://adrenalineshots.livejournal.com/40869.html) and please remember to feedback the artist!**

  


 

  
[master post](http://chase-acow.livejournal.com/257442.html)  
[part one](http://chase-acow.livejournal.com/257037.html) // [part two](http://chase-acow.livejournal.com/256872.html)  
[one post at dreamwidth](http://chase-acow.dreamwidth.org/285760.html)  


 

The gummi ship quivered as Jensen walked down the hall toward the cockpit. It always jiggled when they flew through hyperspace to avoid the Heartless, but he still hadn't gotten used to it. Going from his homeworld where the fastest way to get anywhere was a good horse, to freakin' interstellar travel from the center of a jello mold made his head spin.

"Whoa!" Jensen said, walking around a corner and straight into Jared's chest. He bounced back, but the big Defender didn't budge an inch.

"Hey, Jensen, what you doing?" Jared asked, grinning in his signature expression. Jensen didn't know how he did it, keeping upbeat even when things looked to be their darkest. Or when Chad decided to be particularly obnoxious.

Jared looked completely at home in the spaceship, but it had come from his homeworld so he probably should. He'd found Jensen on the very first new world he'd explored after the keyblade had come to him and Texas had been destroyed. Together, along with Jared's partner the wizard Chad, they'd destroyed the Heartless and found out that Jensen could lock the keyholes that let the Heartless travel between worlds with his keyblade.

"Looking for Chad to see how long until we get to the next world," Jensen answered as Jared fell in step beside him. Chad's reluctance to let Jensen drive still irked him more than he wanted, so he decided to make up for it by pestering Chad at every opportunity. "We've got to be getting closer to finding Kane again."

When the Heartless overran his world, Jensen had lost his best friends Kane and Danneel in all the confusion. Jared and Chad followed the orders of their King to find and protect the keyblade while they searched for him too. Originally, they'd set off on a quest to explore other worlds while vanquishing monsters, helping people, and looking for their missing friends. The plot only grew more complicated as they continued and Maleficent, the sorceress pulling the strings of the Heartless, managed to always be one step ahead.

"Yeah, I hope so," Jared replied, sounding odd for a second before he shook himself and continued more normally. "Chad's not in the cockpit, though. The jackass put the ship on autopilot so he could go make dinner in the kitchen."

Jensen groaned, glad that he still had some left over snacks from the last world they'd visited. "Hasn't he learned yet that his wizardly skills don't translate to cooking?" he asked, wondering again why the gummi ship wasn't edible. "I thought those omelets last week that made us all sick would have been enough."

It took a little longer for Jensen to warm up to Chad no matter how many times Jared assured him that there really was a great guy lurking inside Chad. Somewhere. Between bouts of kicking Heartless ass, the Heartless that had asses, Chad behaved like a prickly, self-involved dickwad. In a fight, Chad more than made up for his faults, he learned new spells faster than Jensen did and never hesitated to throw himself right into the middle even when he could stay safer from the outside.

Between the two of them, they ran Jared ragged from trying to cover them both, and anchor their group's attack. The longer they fought together the better they all got at their individual skills and joining forces for special attacks. Somehow, they managed not to kill each other while stuck in transit between worlds.

"Apparently not," Jared replied, cocking his head so that his shaggy hair fell forward into his eyes. "I'm headed to the control room so I can avoid the kitchen. Wanna join me?"

A loud _bang_ ricocheted down through the ship and a second later, they heard Chad's voice yell, "It's fine! Everything is fine. Just give me a second."

"Sounds like a plan," Jensen agreed quickly as smoke drifted down the ladder connecting the different decks. He followed Jared into the cockpit and sat down in the copilot's seat.

Jared couldn't have been more different from Chad's spastic antics or Jensen's own disgruntled disposition. When they were all tired and sure that they couldn't get through another wave of Heartless, Jared's rock solid optimism kept them going. And when they faltered, his wide shoulders always picked up the slack. Jensen knew that he'd never have gotten so far on his own, and Jared grew fast to fill the space left aching when he'd lost Kane and Danneel.

Kane had been his best friend since they were both little and they'd shared a spit-shake promise to be brothers forever. Lately though, everything turned into a competition, especially whenever Danneel was involved, and neither winning nor losing felt good. Danneel was a sweet, funny, sarcastic ball all rolled up inside a pretty package. She lived her life as fiercely as many of the men, which often got her into trouble, but she'd been unshakable in her faith that Jensen's destiny would mean more than simple farm work.

They'd been building a raft to sail off into the Gulf looking for new worlds when the Heartless had attacked and separated them. The last thing he saw from Texas before he fell through the open door, was a herd of wild horses running terrified from a group of Heartless. He wished his old friends could be there on the gummi ship too; Kane and Danneel would have loved some of the worlds they'd visited.

"A munny for your thoughts?"

"What? Oh," Jensen pulled himself to the present and realized that Jared must have been watching him for a while. "I'm thinking about Kane and Danneel. She'd have drooled all over Hercules and Kane would have gone apeshit over all the fighting we've been doing."

He'd always stood in Kane's shadow when it came to practice fighting with their wooden swords. Most of the grownups shook their heads at the silliness of two half-grown men chasing each other around. Even his parents always thought that he'd grow out of the phase and settle down with a nice girl, but that'd never really been on his radar. He'd been more than content to follow Kane's lead.

Jared forced a grin, turning his attention to the view screen that showed their approach to a new world. "We'll find them, Jensen, don't worry. When you're such good friends, nothing can keep you apart," he said, clearing his throat. He pressed a few buttons and adjusted their flightpath. "Better get ready, we'll be there soon. The display says that there's a forest we'll beam into."

"Thanks, Jared," Jensen said, standing so he could reach over and ruffle Jared's hair. He'd never really been comfortable with touching people, but somehow that barrier didn't exist with Jared. "I don't know what I'd do without you."

Jensen had to hold his breath through the new foul stench that filled the hallway, no doubt from Chad's botched attempt at cooking. As he gathered up the hi-potions and elixirs he wanted to take with him, he didn't think about Kane's wild lifestyle or Danneel's sly smile. Instead he thought about Jared's eyes and the strength of his hands.

 

  


 

Jensen tingled all over after Chip beamed them down to the new world; his were always rougher than when Dale made the calculations. Blinking hard to get the sparkles out of his eyes, Jensen took a step forward and almost fell flat on his face. When he finally got his balance he looked down at himself.

"Goddamn it, I'm a fucking bunny!" he cursed, holding out a paw and lifting an elongated foot to make sure he hadn't made a mistake. Nope, when he reached up to check his hair, he found two velvety ears instead. Growling, he quickly scowled over his shoulder at the other two. "What's going on?"

"Ah, Jen, you make a very manly bunny," Jared teased, pausing in the inspection on his own new feline body to give Jensen a toothy grin.

Of course, he wouldn't complain, Jared got to be a big cheetah, not some pansy rabbit. "Chad!" he bellowed, finally spotting his other companion who patted his own face in disbelief. "What the hell happened? Why are you an armadillo?"

At least they still had their thumbs, walked upright, and had clothes on, so it could be worse. Jensen's outfit had transformed into a pair of rough canvas trousers that barely reached below the curve of his new powerful legs, where his knees would be if he were still human. He looked down at his chest and saw a loose white shirt with open laces below his throat.

"Dude, this isn't my fault!" Chad sputtered, waving his arms until he over balanced and fell backward. The curve of his shell kept him wobbling, but his arms and legs were too short to reach the ground. Finally he stilled from his useless squirming and crossed his arms over his chest, pouting. "It's residual magic that the King put on all of our gummi ships to preserve the world order so we blend in with the locals."

"Yeah, yeah, we can't let anyone know that we're from another world," Jensen sighed and repeated the maxim that they'd drilled into his head. It had been a pain in his ass before, and he didn't guess things were going to change anytime soon.

Jared finally couldn't hold it in anymore and broke into big guffaws of laughter over Chad's predicament. Jensen felt his own lips twitching up into a grin. They walked over together and each grabbed one side of Chad's shell to lift him up on his feet. Jensen patted Chad on the back and got a swat from Chad's tail to his shins for his trouble.

"Oo-de-lally! Watch out!"

Seconds after the shouted warning, a monstrously big bear crashed through the underbrush and caught Chad up in a flying tackle. Flying through the air, Chad curled into a ball squeaking shrilly. He bounced twice on the ground and rolled until he splatted upside down against a tree.

"Look, the welcoming committee is here," Jensen said, keyblade flashing into his hands as he moved into a fighting stance. His blood sang in his ears getting ready for the fight. As much as he missed quiet nights, he knew that he belonged here, kicking ass and taking names. He wished Kane and Danneel could see him then.

Jared pulled his shield off his back and slipped his arm through the inside loops. He stepped up next to Jensen to face whatever came out next. "Why can't they ever bring a cake?" Jared asked, grinning in his excitement for the fight. The shield stretched wide, meant for defense and squashing Heartless against it. "I like cake."

"Is there a food group you wouldn't eat?" Jensen teased, adrenaline spiking through his system as the first Heartless appeared. "Besides anything Chad's had his hands on, I mean."

The battle raged for several minutes, prolonged when Chad finally joined the fight and accidently healed several of the new apparently fire-based Heartless with a firaga spell. Somehow, Jared managed to fight faster, like a cheetah possessed, as he covered both Jensen and Chad while getting his own hits in.

Eventually, Jensen used the keyblade to release all the hearts that the Heartless had stolen and the three of them stood back to back to back in the middle of the clearing. Jensen panted with exertion, but felt elated from winning. Chad's wand still smoked from all the magic he'd shot around.

"Well now, that was some fight!"

Jensen turned, keyblade still in his hands while he searched for enemies, but the bear had crept out and spoken with a low pleasant voice. He wore a green tunic, short brown boots and a cap with a feather stuck in the side. The smile that stretched across his face reassured Jensen that the bear probably didn't want to eat them.

"We can hold our own," Jensen responded, sending the keyblade back to wherever it went when he didn't need it. He gestured at his chest and then at his friends, "I'm Jensen, and this is Jared and Chad."

"Good to meetcha," the bear said, stepping forward to shake their hands. "I'm John Little, but most people call me Little John."

Jared slung his shield around on his back and took Little John's hand. "You seem to be having some problems around here. Anything we can do to help?" he offered, knowing that where they landed, trouble couldn't be too far away.

"As if it weren't bad enough Robin Hood getting locked up in the tower, now Sherwood Forest's been invaded by those crazy looking things that you guys just fought," Little John said, as he swept his hat off his head and wiped his arm across his forehead.

"Robin Hood, huh?" Chad asked, using his wand to scratch down inside his shell. "Guess he's your hoity-toity hero around these parts?"

"He's the only thing that keeps the people going under Prince John's tyrannical taxes!" Little John answered, gesturing with a fist toward the path he'd run down. Then he deflated, and shrugged his shoulders, "Without him, I don't know what we'll do."

Jensen reached up to scratch his head, but his fingers tangled in his new long ears. He tried to make the gesture look more natural as he tried to flatten them down. "Guess we'll have to go get him then," he snapped his fingers, showing how easy it'd be. "Can you show us where he's being held?"

"It wouldn't do any good, there's no getting in," Little John said, as he shook his head sadly. "We've tried."

"Ah, but _we_ have a specialized skill set," Jared said, stepping up next to Jensen so he could throw one long spotted arm over Jensen's shoulder. He leaned down and rubbed their cheeks together in friendship, a gesture that wouldn't even be that far out of place for the _human_ Jared.

The bear looked at them thoughtfully for a few seconds before another wide smile broke out on his face. "You know, I think I'm getting an idea."

"Does the idea come with dinner? Because we kinda missed ours," Chad added, already chomping the leaves from a branch broken during their fight.

Jensen sighed and wondered, not for the first time, what he'd ever done in a previous life to end up with Chad as a guardian.

 

&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;Jared&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;

 

Jared loved travelling between worlds and meeting new friends, but he really enjoyed the occasional transformations that worked out in his favor. His whiskers tingled as he walked and if he could finally get Chad to shut up, he could enjoy the view. With every step Jensen took, his tail swished from side to side, making Jared feel simultaneously teased and hypnotized.

Worse than catnip.

"Do you think he's alright?"

"Who?" Jared shook his head and laid his ears down before he turned to look at Chad. After all their years together, he'd gotten used to Chad's abrupt swings in conversation, but he couldn't always follow them. "Do I think who is all right?"

Chad made the best kind of best friend. They both had talents that complimented each other, they were the best Defender/Wizard pairing in the army. Not because they were the best individually, but because they could work together without ego getting in the way. The secret behind their success was simply laughter, and they laughed together a lot.

"The King," Chad said, breaking into Jared's thoughts. He tilted his new pointed face up at Jared, letting his worried emotions show through the angle of his ears and the pull of his lips. Despite his gruff and often douchey exterior, Jared knew that Chad cared a lot.

Sighing, Jared shifted the weight of the shield across his shoulders. It wasn't shaped for the body of a cheetah, and he wished he would have brought one of his smaller shields. "I think that King JDM can take care of himself," he answered, trying to be honest while not letting his own anxiety show.

"But shouldn't he have left us some sign by now?" Chad continued, keeping his voice soft enough not to bother Jensen or Little John. "Even Jensen found Kane back in Traverse Town."

"The more I think about, I'm sure that _Kane_ found us. Actually, I think something helped him," Jared mused as he thought about the encounter. They'd been in Traverse Town, and something hadn't felt right, even then. "Jensen said he hadn't been acting normally even before you pissed him off."

Chad glared, his beady little eyes more intimidating than his normal bright blue ones. "The King told us to find and protect the _keyblade_, not pick up every hitchhiker we came across," he replied, still defending himself. He and Jensen hadn't spoken to each other until three days after that event when Chad had refused to let Kane go with them.

Jared quirked an eyebrow, and pressed, "C'mon, admit it. You were a dick." He often got the job of running interference between the two, but he didn't mind. Chad had been his best friend for years and Jensen. . . Well, he wanted Jensen to be more.

"I might, and I stress _might_, have been a bit of a dick," Chad finally admitted after Jared tried to poke him with an elbow and ended up hurting himself on Chad's tough leathery shell. He dropped his belligerent expression, and again looked young and vulnerable. "I'm still worried about the King."

"He'll be fine, and were going to find him soon," Jared promised, wrapping his arm across Chad's shoulder to pull his friend into a hug. He had to be honest with himself and privately admitted that he wished they could see the King too, if only to make sure they were on the right track. He also missed having the King as a friend to talk to.

"Hurry up you two, or there'll be no grub left!" Little John yelled from around a bend in the path. He and Jensen had pulled further ahead while he and Chad had been talking.

Chad looked up, worried again as they lengthened their strides to catch up and asked, "You don't think he meant real grubs, do you?"

Jared's laugh echoed through the forest and made several flocks of birds take flight.

&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;Jared&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;

 

"Now, Maid Marian, be reasonable," Little John pleaded after the argument had continued through dinner and into the planning part of the evening.

"What's reasonable about expecting me to sit at home and wait while my fiancé is in danger?" she asked, still too much of a lady to raise her voice, though Jared felt sure that everyone listening could hear the steel in her tone.

It was hard, but somehow, he managed to hold his tongue so as not to interfere in the world order. Jensen, on the other hand, still hadn't quite grown into the ethical mindset. Jared winced as Jensen stepped right into the middle of the argument.

"I agree with the lady," Jensen said, his ears stood straight up at attention except for the tip of one that kept twitching in agitation. "If you love someone, really love them, then you have to help. It hurts not to help and you shouldn't let anyone stand in your way."

Maid Marian pressed her hands together against her heart and turned to Jensen, looking for an ally, "That's how I feel. I can't stay here while Robin is led to the gallows! You must let me help!"

Jared saw that Little John crumbled under Jensen and Marian's twin assaults, but he couldn't really blame him. He'd bend over backwards and bring a bouquet of rainbows if Jensen asked him too. "Can you fight?" he asked, knowing that someone would have to be the voice of reason. He held up both paws when they turned their glares on him. "I would ask anyone who intended to join a rescue mission."

"No," she finally admitted, only to strengthen her resolve a moment later, "but I can be a lookout. I'll wear Robin's blind beggar disguise, and then no one will ever put two and two together when he wears it again."

"Good thinking, Marian," Jensen cut in quickly, as if he still though Jared would shoot her down instead of wishing that Jensen would feel so passionate about him.

"I'm glad you think so, since you'll also be in disguise," Little John said, looking a little too smug not to be up to something. "Marian, you have anything to fit Jensen?"

"What the hell?" Jensen sputtered, but Marian looked at him thoughtfully for a second before disappearing up into her treehouse. She returned a minute later with a soft blue dress across her arms. "No way, I don't wear dresses!"

Little John took the dress and shook it out, holding it up in front of Jensen's body to check out the measurements. "It has to be you, no one will believe that a male hare courted a female cheetah," he answered distractedly, "Besides, you can pull that sword of yours out of thin air, right? Jared will need to carry his shield in."

Apparently, the fox and the bear crossdressed all the time to put one over the local tyrant, and it wasn't anything new to Jared's playbook either. Sometimes dressing up as a girl to fool the bad guys made the most sense. However, in the short time he'd spent with Jensen, it'd become painfully obvious that they didn't do things like that in Texas. Ever.

"You're loving this, aren't you?" Jensen accused, scowling but holding still while John and Marian made plans of their own for his disguise.

"Not if it makes you uncomfortable. I know that dress isn't really your style," Jared answered honestly. He could admit to himself that he didn't hate the idea of Jensen in a dress, but only as long as he held onto Jared's arm too. He almost managed to hold his chuckle in as he added, "Anyway, blue isn't really your color. Now if it was _green_. . . ."

Jensen gaped, his mouth opening and closing several times before he managed to speak, "Why you son of a-"

Cackling, Jared leapt out of the way from Jensen reach and raced across the camp that Robin Hood's followers had set up. By the time he'd led Jensen twice around the firepit, he panted hard enough to make his chest hurt and on the third lap, jumped high using his claws to grab a branch. Swinging himself up, Jensen missed yanking his tail by only inches.

"You can't stay up there all night," Jensen said, glaring up through the leaves and branches.

"You wanna bet?" Jared answered, situating his body on a wide branch so he could relax without pinching any of his more necessary bits. He grinned as Jensen scowled, and waved his tail just to annoy the other man. Hare. Whatever

It wasn't Jared's fault that he ended up cutting his nose off to spite his face. When night fell in Sherwood Forest, it fell cold. He waited until everyone else had found a place to sleep and then silently crept down. Chad ended up burrowing down under the ground off to the side, but Jared could still hear him snoring.

The fire burned down to mere coals as Jared tried to find a place close enough to offer some warmth. Cool grass made a springy bed, but he instantly curled in on himself trying to conserve heat. It was going to be a long night.

He jerked out of his uneasy doze as something warm covered him. He knuckled the sleep out of his eyes and blinked before he finally made Jensen's shape out of the darkness. "Thought you were still mad at me?" he said, drawling through his fatigue.

"Idiot, I'd never be that mad at you," Jensen answered, bending over to make sure Jared's feet were covered.

"Nobody else seems to care that it's freezing cold out here," Jared snuggled into the blanket, noticing at once that it smelled like Jensen. His crush seriously spiraled out of control with every extra moment he spent in the other man's company. He was doomed.

"We've got longer fur than you do," Jensen answered, crouching at Jared's side so they wouldn't wake anyone else up. "There's probably a reason why cheetahs aren't native around here."

Jensen hesitated, and for some reason Jared's mouth started moving without his consent, "Stay here."

"What?" Jensen asked, cocking his head. One of his ears flopped over making him look adorably confused.

Jared blushed, glad that his fur hid it, and backpedaled, "I mean, it'll be warmer if we sleep back to back, and we could share the blanket. You don't have to, though, it's no big deal."

"No big deal," Jensen repeated, and slowly lowered himself to the ground. He carefully fit his body against Jared's back and tucked his bare feet against Jared's calves.

"Goodnight, Jensen," Jared whispered, wiggling a little so they touched as much as possible. He felt warmer already, but not only because of the blanket. He never had any problem sleeping, but with Jensen so close, he thought maybe he'd stay awake all night. He shouldn't miss a second feeling their bodies rub together.

_"Rise and shine!"_

Jared woke up to a low rumble coming from somewhere too close. It took him a few seconds trying to pull his head out of the best dream he'd ever had to realize that the noise came from him. Sometime during the night, he'd turned around, snuggled closer to Jensen's back, and started purring out his contentment.

"Wakey, wakey, lovebirds!"

Jensen yawned and stretched, pushing his ass against Jared's fully interested cock. Quicker than he'd ever moved before with morning wood, Jared shot up to his feet and dropped the blanket in a heap on Jensen's head. Chad doubled over; laughing his ass off a few steps away, and Jared made a point to slug him in the arm on his way past, and hissed, "Douchebag."

He didn't stop until he'd made his way far enough into the forest to block the camp from sight. Jared wasn't stupid or reckless, he could still hear them and visa versa, but he needed a second to think. He'd never really had a friend like Jensen before; not someone he could talk to for hours at a time, and kinda wanted to spend the rest of his life with.

Ironically, the one thing that he wanted to talk to Jensen the most about was the one thing that he couldn't. He wanted to tell Jensen how he felt, wanted to be honest with his heart, but he worried too much about losing Jensen forever if he did. He didn't know much about the world of Texas, but obviously Jensen knew next to nothing about a man loving another man.

Jared had a hard time imagining it, but that life was all Jensen had ever known.

"Jared?" Chad peeked through the bushes, using his long snout to push aside the branches so he could see. "Hey, man, what's got your panties in a bunch?"

"You can't say that kind of shit in front of Jensen," Jared said, rubbing his hands over the back of his head. He wished that he still had his hair so he could tug it and curl the ends around his fingers. He'd always felt more comfortable with something in his hands.

Chad rolled his eyes and walked closer to Jared, punching him lightly in the bicep, "When are you going to man up, or cheetah up or, fuck, _whatever_ and drag Jensen off to your room?"

"It's not that simple, Chad," Jared blew out a long breath. It wasn't as if he hadn't _thought_ about dragging Jensen to his bed. He'd never really been a caveman type, but Jensen clearly brought it out in him. "It's not like you and Sophia. I want this so bad. I want someone who'll hold me, and laugh at my dumb jokes, and love me. For once I want someone to tell _me_ that everything's going to be all right."

"Jared-"

Shutting his eyes tight, Jared counted to ten. He hadn't realized that he'd been bottling that all up inside him, but once he said it, he knew that he'd never be able to deny it again. The rough and tumble existence in the King's army was the only life he'd ever known, but flying the universe with Jensen had really opened his eyes. He'd tired of barracks gossip, jostling for promotion, and always feeling that little piece of something missing.

But now really wasn't the time to have a life changing freak-out. Worlds were dying, people needed help, and Jensen depended on him to carry the load. Jared knew that he'd rather die than disappoint his friend.

"Come on, we have a hero to save," Jared said, ignoring his own gruff voice as he shrugged his shoulders. He couldn't do anything about his problems anyway. He couldn't tell Jensen the way he felt, period. End of story.

He held the bushes aside so Chad could get his shell through first, and quickly shoved all those feelings down to the very bottom of his heart where he could lock them away. He still had a job to do, and friends to protect. Later, when they'd finished the fight, then he could poke at the wound and live with the pain.

"Jared, you know I-_oh holy shit_!" Chad yelled, his head whipped around in a double take when they walked into camp.

"What?" Jared didn't need to finish his question as he caught sight of Maid Marian and Little John arranging Jensen's new dress to hide his figure better. Instantly he sealed his lips together, almost bursting a blood vessel to keep his laughter down in his belly. Jensen looked ready to tear someone's head off.

"I swear, if you so much as chuckle, I will rearrange the gummi ship so that your bedroom shares ventilation with Chad's bathroom," Jensen swore, bobbing his head so that his veil fell down to cover one eye.

"Sounds serious, Big J," Chad laughed, since he hadn't been threatened with near certain death.

Jensen growled and crossed his arms over his chest, "I hate you both."

&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;Jared&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;

 

Jensen fidgeted at his side, and Jared had to concentrate not to bare his teeth at all the other animals watching Jensen with thinly disguised desire in their eyes. Little John had made them up to look like high class visitors, but Jared would have preferred a little less attention aimed at them. The execution of the notorious Robin Hood had drawn in everyone from the surrounding areas and security had been tightened considerably. The extra crowd meant that he and Jensen weren't the only newcomers.

"Oh, my dear, don't you just look good enough to eat?"

The short hair on the nape of his neck lifted, and Jared felt glad for the high-necked collar that hid his instinctual reaction. He did tug Jensen a little closer by the waist as he turned to face the voice, and felt glad that he'd let his possessive streak show when he saw the lion with a crown on his head. The touch of insanity he spotted in the false king's eyes made him itch to show his claws.

"Your majesty," Jared said, remembering the advice that Maid Marian had coached him with earlier. He bowed low as Jensen curtsied and kept his eyes down, "may I present myself and my wife to you?" His gut squirmed pleasantly even at the lie of claiming Jensen for his own despite the circumstances that made it necessary.

"You may," the king replied, though he didn't bother to turn his eyes away from Jensen's averted face. Avarice oozed out of his voice, and Jared really wanted to unstrap his shield from his back and bash King John's head in.

Their plan, such as it was, depended on Jensen being able to both keep his temper and keep King John distracted long enough for Jared and Chad to scale the tower to free Robin of the Hood. If he were a betting man, Jared would lay odds on everything going to shit about halfway through, but impossible odds never bothered them before.

"I am Jared of the clan Padalecki and this is my lady, Jensen," Jared said taking one of the king's paws to kiss. He hates the subservience of the act; King JDM always greeted his subjects with a kiss to the cheek not by receiving mandatory fawning submission. "May I compliment you on a well kept populace?"

Inside, Jared's own temper pulsed through his veins. Little John had been completely right about how far past the bounds of decency the king had gone. The commoners barely lifted their heads as they plodded along through the square. No one looked up at the gallows erected right in front of the royal dais. Jared's heart went out to them, but he was bound by his own king's rules.

"Yes, the peasants have finally cowed under our rule," King John drawled, using the royal plural as if they didn't already know he was full of himself. He buffed his nails on the edge of his robe and then inspected them. "They've lately forgotten their place, but they won't make that mistake again, not if they want to keep the smallest of coppers to buy moldy bread."

"You truly are the most bold of kings, sire," Jensen said softly, making his voice higher as if he were out of breath. Exactly the kind of voice Jared longed to hear after a night with Jensen in his bed. Only the knowledge that Jensen could probably chew up the king's scepter and spit out nails with his anger kept him from getting inappropriately hard.

King John smiled, all sharp teeth and gave his paw to Jensen to kiss. "Quite right, my dear, quite right," he chuckled, straightening his tilting crown with his other paw.

"Majesty, I know we've only met, but I hoped to ask a boon of you," Jared asked, careful not to make direct eye contact and force a challenge they didn't want. Not that the cowardly king would have accepted it himself. "I am to meet with a friend to talk of weapons and other topics my lady would find dreadfully boring. Could she perhaps be allowed a station near your pavilion to recline?"

"We shall do you better, she shall stay with us where we can keep our eyes sharp for danger," he answered, already pulling Jensen away. His long tongue flicked out to lick his lips, and he carefully straightened his whiskers.

"Thank you, Highness," Jared bit his tongue before he could say anything else that he desperately wanted to. Instead he turned to Jensen and winked where John couldn't see, taking Jensen's paw so he could brush his lips over his knuckles. "Take care, my lady."

He could tell that Jensen's preference would be to slap his silly, but Jensen inclined his head and murmured, "You too."

Jared waited and watched with his heart thudding in his chest as Jensen walked away with the king. He knew the plan, and that Jensen could take care of himself, but it still tore him in two watching the man he loved with that scheming bastard.

"Coppers for the blind? Excuse me sir, could you spare a penny for a poor old man?"

Looking around, Jared finally tipped his head down and found the owner of the voice. An old blind man, bent over with age clutched a cane and cup in one hand and tugged at Jared's cloak with the other. The dinted cup rattled with only a couple of coins.

"Of course," Jared said softly, recognizing Marian in her disguise once he managed to put Jensen to the back of his mind. He reached into his pockets and pulled out some munny that King JDM's magic changed into the world's coinage to drop in her cup. "Can you tell me where to find a decent meal?"

"Thank ye, thank ye," she said, lowering her voice so that other passerbys would never know that she wasn't the same person they'd meet when it had been Robin under the disguise. "Try the Wooden Shield down the side street to the right. You should find what you're looking for."

They hadn't known for sure what tavern would be safe for them to meet at before they went after Robin. Hopefully, Marian had already found Chad and sent him to the same place. Jared stretched his neck around, hoping for one last look at Jensen, but his friend was nowhere to be seen.

&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;Jared&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;

 

"So, then they shove him through the doors, and he's trying to flail his arms to balance himself, but he's chained at the wrist and falls flat on his face," Robin Hood laughed, standing with his back to the central fire so the light cast his shadow over the faces of the crowd. "He looks up and says, '_Hi, I'm Chad and I'm here to rescue you._'!"

The animals roared with laughter and Little John slung the arm not holding his four mugs of ale around Chad's shoulders, nearly knocking him off his log. Chad, being three sheets to the wind himself, laughed along with them.

Jared giggled a little himself, swept up in the celebrations. The plan had worked like a charm, until it didn't. Instead of just distracting the guards, Chad managed to get arrested, but the resulting hole in the prison's defenses managed to achieve the same result. That left Jared to deal with the Sheriff of Nottingham, who was no match for Jared's speed. He left the wolf caught in the same stocks that some poor owl had been sentenced to.

"Well you got rescued didn't you?" Chad whined, slurping out of his cup because his nose kept getting in the way when he tried to drink like a normal human would.

Robin owed most of his rescue to Jensen who managed to rein in his temper and keep King John busy. Jared had nearly fallen off the rampart wall when he saw Jensen dancing with the cowardly lion, but then he saw Maid Marian leading a handful of prisoners from the common dungeon behind the royal dais. He ignored the possessive growl that threatened to choke him and concentrated on hauling Chad and Robin up from inside the prison walls.

Jensen waited until all three of them were silhouetted against the darkening sky of twilight before he pulled away and punched King John right in the snout. John snapped with indignant fury, and that was all the darkness needed to invade the lion's heart and steal it away. The resulting Heartless grew in stature and monstrosity, easily becoming the most fearsome creature they'd faced so far.

"Indeed I did, my friend," Robin said, smiling at Chad with the good humor and charisma that made him a hero. He wasn't a hand-to-hand fighter, so when Jared and Chad immediately jumped down to Jensen's side he stayed on the wall, firing arrow after arrow into the monster's gullet. He showed courage and strength of heart. "And you all have my thanks."

"And mine as well," Maid Marian added, stepping next to Robin and placing her slim hand on his arm. She smiled at them all before she tilted her head up asking for a kiss that Robin readily gave her.

Nearby, several animals picked up instruments and led by a rooster started to play a slow ballad. The atmosphere quickly shifted as even the breeze bought into the mood and playfully twisted with Maid Marian's veil. The couple shifted closer together, suddenly going from the center of attention to their own private world.

"Every _single_ time," Jensen groaned, slumping a bit into Jared's side before pushing up off the log. He glanced away from Robin and Marian and stuck his thumb out to the side. "I'm outta here before I get sucked into the chorus. I'll get Chad and meet you at the gummi ship."

Jared watched Jensen slowly slink away from the singing and stood, wanting to get away from the happy couple himself. He didn't begrudge them at all, but he also longed for him and Jensen to star in their own duet. He only wandered a little further into the forest until he could still hear the music, but felt the solitude of his life cut him to the bone.

"_I swear this ain't a love song, just one man all alone_," Jared sang softly during the refrain as the melody slowed and twisted from Robin and Marian's love to his own longing. "_He's got no map to guide him, just a wound inside his soul_."

He'd never win any award for singing, but something in the worlds they visited often brought it out in them. The first time the magic caught Jensen and made him sing and dance backup for the White Rabbit from Wonderland, Jared thought his head would explode. Since then, Jensen made sure to steer clear of anyplace that might even _possibly_ end up in a song and dance.

Jared tried not to get caught in a solo anywhere Jensen could hear, since the music usually brought out the truth of feelings. Jensen didn't need to find out how Jared actually felt through a tap dance routine.

"_You know I would fight a thousand men and I know these knees would never bend_," Jared took a running start and leapt up on a boulder, grabbing at a tree limb to keep his balance. He looked up at the night sky and sighed at the stars shining down on him. "_I would climb those mountains high, for the Secret In your Eyes._"

The music died away leaving him empty once again, no closer to answers, and aching inside.

 

  


 

The second they transported to the planet, the Heartless attacked; Jensen barely heard Jared's shouted warning before a tree-shaped monster tackled him sideways. Between the three of them, they cut the Heartless down quickly, but then they learned that unless the killing blow came from a burst of magic, that type of Heartless would split and respawn twice as many and twice as angry.

Jensen wiped the sweat from his face and gladly accepted an ether that Jared tossed him to restore his MP. Since they were working with magic, Jared couldn't do much more than support him and Chad while they destroyed Heartless. He knew how much it bothered Jared when his great strength the best thing to useless.

Eventually, he and Chad blasted the last of the Heartless out of existence and high-fived in the middle of the still disintegrating shadows. He watched as the hearts they released floated up to the sky and hoped that they'd find their way back to wherever they belonged.

"Help! Help!"

"Geeze, why don't we ever find a pizza waiting whenever we beam down?" Chad asked crossly, casting curaga to heal himself. He pulled his wand out, thankfully one that sacrificed pure might for increased magic and ran toward the source of the shouting.

"Has he always complained so much?" Jensen asked as Jared fell into step beside him while they ran after the wizard.

"Naw," Jared said, and looked over smiling. "He used to whine much worse!"

They found Chad finishing off a pack of shadow Heartless while defending a girl who'd fallen to the ground. Jensen knew that any one of them could banish those Heartless in their sleep, so he wasn't too worried about riding to the rescue. Chad hardly ever got to be the hero; it should probably be his turn.

When he finished, Chad ran his fingers through his hair to straighten it after the fight and turned to the girl. "Hi," he said, flashing her his smarmiest smile. "I'm Chad."

She promptly screamed and ran away through the brushes. Behind her, she left a hole of broken foliage that twisted through the woods.

Jensen collapsed on top of Jared, laughing together until tears rolled down their eyes. The look on her face when confronted with Chad would be enough to set him off for days. Jensen put a hand to his aching gut and finally calmed down enough to shout, "You okay, Chad?"

"I think I'm in love," Chad said dreamily, staring after the girl.

Jared stopped laughing and walked over grabbing Chad in a headlock. "What about the Princess Sofia?" Jared asked, lifting both eyebrows as he twisted Chad around to look in his eyes. Jensen remembered them talking about Chad's girlfriend from their homeworld on occasion.

Chad tried to shrug, and struggled to get Jared to loosen his bicep from around his neck, "Hey, what she doesn't know, won't hurt me!"

"You're horrible," Jensen said, chuckling at Chad's antics. He only meant to tease, but he couldn't miss the hurt look on Jared's face at his words. Taking a step closer, he reached out to touch Jared's shoulder, "Jared?"

Shaking himself like a big dog coming in out of the rain, Jared stepped away. "Nothing," he said, an uneasy grin on his face. "Come on, we better go check to make sure she's okay and that there aren't any more Heartless running around."

"Sure," Jensen agreed, but he couldn't shake the feeling that he missed a big piece of the puzzle.

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()Jensen()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()() 

 

"I'm sorry my friend screamed at you, but we've never seen anyone who looks like you from so close before," Pocahontas said after they'd made their introductions. She didn't seem afraid of them at all, though she stayed at her friend's side, "Did you come on the big ship from another world?"

"Another world!" Chad yelled, his eyes bugging out as he cut Jensen off from answering, "Ha, ha. What makes you say that? Another world."

She exchanged a glance with her friend that Jensen could easily read as though she wondered if they were all clearly insane. He could have kicked Chad in the ass himself. The man wouldn't know subtle if it bit him on the ass.

"Well, I heard the other men with pale faces talking," Pocahontas said, slowly enunciating as if she doubted that Chad could follow her otherwise. "They said they sailed here in a large ship and are calling this the 'New World'."

"Oh!" Chad said, still overdoing it. "Then yes, that's exactly what we've done. From _another world_." He even made air quotes.

Jensen rolled his eyes and elbowed Chad to the side to take over the conversation. "Listen," he said, trying to sound calm and charming, "we're not here to bother anyone, we only want to help out. Have you noticed anything strange going on lately?"

"All the willows on the south bank are dying," Pocahontas answered right away. "No one can tell me why, not even our medicine man."

Jared nodded and looked at Jensen, "Sounds like it's worth checking out. Can you take us there?"

"Yes, follow me," she said, standing gracefully and leading them out of the clearing.

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()Jensen()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

 

"I wondered when you'd finally get here, Jensen."

Jensen jumped at the voice, his excitement overriding his good sense as he ignored Jared's warnings and ran on ahead shouting, "Kane! I've been looking everywhere for you! You'll never guess all the awesome stuff I've seen."

He skidded to a stop though, when he finally got a glimpse of Kane. His childhood friend had changed completely, from his clothes to the quiet yellow glow in his eyes. Even the way Kane stood made Jensen think of a barely sane rattlesnake from home. It looked like he'd sheared away the trunk of an ancient tree to use as his stage.

"Kane?" he asked, a little more concerned than he had been.

"I'm so glad you remember my name, Jensen," Kane said, anger rolling off him in waves like a physical force. "I wasn't sure you would with all the new friends you've been making lately."

Kane gestured and suddenly the Heartless appeared. These were huge monsters with vine shaped arms they immediately used to grab and hold Chad and Jared immobile. They screeched with horrible dissonant voices that made the inside of Jensen's head vibrate like the inside of a big ringing bell.

"Jensen!" Jared yelled, struggling to free himself, but his shield was still attached to his shoulders and useless. He managed to break some on the vines, but more grabbed him. Held up off the ground, he couldn't find any leverage against the dozen of arms holding him.

"Kane, what do you think you're doing?" Jensen yelled angrily, pulling the keyblade to him in case of further attack. He couldn't quite reach either Jared or Chad, and he thought the safest course would be to talk Kane down.

Chad wiggled helplessly and then yelled, "Be careful, Jensen! That guy's nuts!"

"So, that's the keyblade," Kane said, completely ignoring both Chad and Jared. He stepped down from the tree and walked closer to Jensen, "I've wanted to get an up close look at it for a while now."

"Stop fucking around, Kane," Jensen warned, turning so he could keep Kane and the Heartless in sight. "Fight with me and we can free the hearts those monsters stole."

"Banish them? Now why would I want to do that?" Kane asked, his smile spreading wide. It wasn't a pleasant smile; Jensen had never seen anything like it on his friend's face. "Maleficent gave me the power to control them. I've got a new weapon too. Wanna see?"

Kane jumped hack and thrust his arms out to the side. A sword flashed into his hands exactly like the keyblade answered Jensen's call, but the sword made Jensen feel sick. Its blade crackled with pure darkness and the shape made him think of thorns. Kane leaped again, flipping in the air and swung his sword over his head, showing off.

"Do you like it?" Kane asked, gracefully landing on his feet. "I mean, I know it's not near as cool as yours is, but it does do one neat little trick. It unlocks the secrets in people's hearts. Let's try it out."

Jensen realized his mistake in letting Kane maneuver between him and Jared, and jumped but it was too late. Kane turned and pointed his weapon straight at Jared's chest. A black light shot from the end of the sword and impaled Jared who screamed and tensed, tight as a board.

"Jared!" Jensen shouted running next to Kane. His heart leaped into his throat seeing Jared slump in pain. That his old friend was doing the hurting only made it worse.

Kane grabbed his arm and held him still while the light grew in intensity. "Watch and learn, Jensen," he said, squinting through the blinding flashes. "See what kind of people you're really running around with."

Before he could demand that Kane explain, the black light exploded around them and Jensen found himself standing in the middle of a spotlight. He couldn't see anything outside the light, but as far as he could tell, the entire forest had disappeared. The instant silence had him off balance, making him weave as he turned in a circle.

"See what your so-called friend really thinks about when he looks at you," Kane's voice whispered, even though the man was nowhere to be seen. The words crawled over Jensen skin like ants. "Look!"

Jensen looked, and a vision slowly took shape in front of him. The image wasn't clear, instead it looked grainy like a photograph out of focus, but it formed steadily until Jensen could make out two figures lying down together. He gasped when he realized that it was him and Jared. Together. _Together_ together.

The other him sprawled on his back, on top of a bed. He had his legs up, wrapped around Jared's waist who moved over Jensen with powerful thrusts of his hips. They were both naked and it didn't really take a genius to see what was going on. But it couldn't be. Two men didn't have sex with each other. It only worked between a man and woman.

Jensen flushed as he watched the other image of him thrash and silently moan in pleasure, digging his fingers into Jared's spine begging for more. The look on the other Jared's face made the flush spread all down Jensen's body. He'd never seen someone look at him with such intensity before, as if their entire world would come crashing down unless Jensen made it better. Jared's hands traced light paths down Jensen's body before stopping at Jensen's cock. He wrapped his big palm around it, and the other Jensen arched at once, pulling Jared tightly to him. They kissed, fiercely battling back and forth until that Jensen gasped turning his head to the side as he came, shooting cum over Jared's abs.

"Do you see now?" Kane whispered, voice soft and almost seductive as it twined around Jensen's heart constricting until Jensen felt cold and alone. "Do you see what kind of a deviant you call your friend?"

"I see," Jensen answered as the vision faded away and he found himself standing in the clearing staring at a man that he thought he knew. Before, he hadn't had any idea that it was possible for a man to feel that way for another man, but now that he did, everything that _he'd_ been feeling for the past few weeks suddenly made so much more sense.

He didn't know if it was right or wrong. He'd learned so many new things since the keyblade chose him to close the keyholes linking the worlds. He'd met so many strong and worthy people who had beliefs so different from anything he'd ever heard of before. Jensen only knew that Jared had been at his side, day in and day out, even when Jensen was ready to explode with frustration and took it out on Jared. "I see," he said again.

Jared heard him and slumped down further in the confines of the Heartless. He looked so defeated, hanging there limp, and when he spoke he barely sounded like himself, "I'm sorry, Jensen. I wasn't going to tell you. I knew that you wouldn't feel the same way. You've got to believe me, I'm still your friend."

"Some friend," Kane cut in, spitting contemptuously on the ground. He grabbed both of Jensen's arms shaking him until their eyes locked. "You see it now don't you? You can't stay with them. Come with me and we can find Danneel together, just like when we were kids."

"I do see," Jensen confirmed, then took a deep breath and shoved Kane away. It was the hardest thing he'd had to do so far on his journey, but it needed to be done. "I see that you've given in to the darkness! Kane, what happened to you?"

Kane growled, grabbing his sword so it flashed in the space between them. "I finally found out what a shitty friend you are," he answered and leaped at Jensen with his sword brought to bear.

This wasn't a fun match, there weren't any rules, and neither of them showed any mercy as they fought. Kane had always been the better fighter, stronger, faster and older, but Jensen had learned a thing or two. Plus, Jensen's motivation to save his friends gave him an extra edge. Their weapons clashed, and though Jensen had to use most his attention to defend against Kane's attacks, he saw Pocahontas working to free Jared and Chad on the side.

"Stop it, Kane," Jensen tried again, barely holding his own in the face of all his old friend's rage. Kane had also learned a few extra tricks that were going to leave bruises until he or Chad could heal them. "We can still do this together, but you have to stop using the Heartless."

"No! They give me power," Kane yelled, and then feinted to the left before jumping to the right. He threw his sword in the air and clasped his hands over his head. Jensen could feel dark power rising up and gathering at Kane's feet. "If you're not with me, then you're against me."

Jensen couldn't move. He felt like a rabbit caught underneath a hawk's talons, but his feet wouldn't obey him when he told himself to run. The power built up until it was intense enough to see, a ball of energy focused in Kane's fists. Watching his life flash before his eyes, Jensen knew that he'd wasted too much time being lonely and daydreaming about the future. He wanted one more chance, a chance to make things right with Jared.

"It's been nice knowing you," Kane said, completely calm as if he were the eye of a tornado before he jerked his hands down and sent the power straight at Jensen in a killing blow.

"Jensen, look out!"

He barely had time to move his head before Jared leaped between him and Kane and took the full impact of the blast. Time slowed down to a crawl as the darkness of Kane's attack shattered through Jared's body and splintered away. Jared spun out of control, lifting twenty feet into the air before jerking across the clearing and crashing to the ground, a limp and broken doll.

"No! Jared!" Jensen shouted, dropping the keyblade to the dust and running to his friend's side. He barely noticed Kane disappearing into a puddle of darkness, because all his attention searched for the rise of Jared's ribcage. "Jared!"

"Curaga!" Chad yelled, casting the healing spell on Jared from a distance, but Jensen could see that it wasn't doing any good. "Curaga! Curaga!"

Loose gravel ground into his knees as Jensen skidded when he reached Jared and started searching for a pulse. His own heart skipped when he found Jared's weak heartbeat at the juncture of his neck. He leaned down low over Jared's face and checked for breathing, but Jared's chest wasn't moving. Jared hadn't acknowledged him at all.

"Come on, c'mon!" Jensen chanted, quickly positioning Jared flat on the ground. He tipped Jared's head and opened his mouth to make sure there wasn't something blocking the airway. He couldn't see anything, so he leaned down, sealing their mouths together and blew into Jared's throat.

"What are you doing?" Chad asked roughly, finally falling down at Jared's other side. He grabbed one of Jared's hands and his own face twisted with shared pain. "What is this?"

"Rescue breathing," Jensen answered shortly, counting Jared's heartbeat and silently begging for Jared to breathe on his own. He leaned down and gently pushed another lungful of air into Jared's mouth.

"Please, please wake up, Jared," Jensen said, laying his head down on Jared's chest willing it to rise and fall under his own power. "Don't leave me."

Jared couldn't leave him, not when Jensen finally opened his eyes to the possibility of all they could be together. He didn't want either of them cheated out of their happy ending, and he didn't know how he could go on if he lost Jared. He started blowing more air into Jared's lungs, when Jared suddenly gasped and turned over, choking as he tried to regulate his own breathing.

"Huh," Jared said, when he finally relaxed into deep panting breaths. Jensen pushed his fingers through his friend's unruly hair and brushed it away from Jared's face. Jared's voice sounded dreamy and his eyes never managed to focus, "True Love's Kiss."

Then he promptly passed out in Jensen's arms.

 

&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;Jared&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;

 

Jared groaned as he sank into his bed. The peculiar odor of the gummi blocks normally soothed him, but now it added to his headache. He couldn't believe how close they'd come to defeat from Kane. If he'd been a second or two slower, then Jensen would have taken the killing blow, and that was simply unacceptable. He'd have to be better next time.

His ribs throbbed with pain that wouldn't go away no matter how many potions he drank or how often Chad cast Curaga on him. He guessed it was simply the price he paid for cheating death. He still couldn't believe that Jensen had kissed him. It seemed like a dream, an awesome one.

When Kane unlocked his heart, and Jensen saw what Jared _really_ daydreamed about, he'd been sure it was over. That Jensen would never forgive him. To be given another chance, especially if he was right and Jensen was open to the idea, a chance to woo his friend the right way made him feel like the luckiest guy in the universe. Despite the aches and pains

"May I come in?"

Opening his eyes, Jared saw that Jensen stood barely inside the doorway, anxiously shifting his weight back and forth. He smiled, "Yeah, come on in."

"I don't want to bother you or anything," Jensen said, but he did actually step into Jared's room. He looked around at the shields Jared had on display and slowly lost the tension in his shoulders. He'd never acted so tentative before, and it bothered Jared that he was obviously so nervous.

"You never bother me," Jared said truthfully. He winced a little as he shifted and something inside poked wrong. He sighed, hopefully he'd be back to one hundred percent for their next mission in the morning. "Now, _Chad_ on the other hand."

Jensen laughed softly and moved to sit on the side of Jared's bed. He toyed with the hem of his shirt, before he finally took a deep breath, "What did you mean, when you said that about 'True Love's Kiss'?"

"Mostly, I was kidding," Jared said, unwilling to lie but not ready to actually declare his undying love either. He still wasn't quite sure about how romance had worked in Texas because Jensen never talked about it much. The last thing he wanted to do would be to scare Jensen off by trying to give too much too soon.

"Mostly?"

Sighing, Jared reached out and squeezed Jensen's shoulder. "Jensen," he said, trying to think about what he was saying to get the right words, "what Kane showed you is true. I do think about that. With you. But I want you to know that I'd never force you to do anything. I just kinda hoped that maybe you felt the same way."

Jensen tried to smile, but the effort was pretty pathetic. "We don't really do things like this in Texas," he trailed off still putting most of his attention to the loose thread in his shirt.

"Yeah, I figured as much," Jared answered, trying not to let the disappointment show in his voice. He still had a job to do; he had to protect the keyblade. If he couldn't do it while sharing his bed with Jensen, then he'd have to get a little distance. Piece of cake. Piece of really hard, probably impossible cake. "It's okay."

"But maybe, I'd like to try," Jensen said suddenly, turning and putting his hand gently on Jared's midsection.

"I… really?" Jared asked, not bothering to disguise the hope in his voice. Jensen looked nervous, but he also had that expression on his face that meant he would see the situation through no matter what. "You don't have to if you don't want to. We can still be friends."

Jensen shifted a little closer, taking Jared's hand in his. "I want to be more than friends," he said slowly, "but I'm not sure how. Are you sure you're okay?"

"Well, I have a headache," Jared said, thinking quickly. He bit his bottom lip and tried to look tired out. "Maybe you could rub my temples? That might make it go away."

"Okay," Jensen swallowed, and Jared tracked his adam's apple as it moved up and down his friend's throat. Jensen inched closer until he could stretch his arms all the way out and reach Jared's head. He used his first two fingers to rub gentle circles at Jared's temples. "Like this?"

"Hmmm," he said, shifting a little further down in the bed. He pretended to grimace and then continued, "Maybe you could get a little closer? It hurts worse on his far side."

Jensen got up on his knees, bouncing the mattress so that Jared didn't need to pretend before he hissed in pain. "Sorry," Jensen apologized, bending down over Jared's torso. "Is this better?"

"A little closer," Jared whispered so Jensen would have to lean even further to hear. He tugged on Jensen's thigh until Jensen carefully straddled Jared's belly. Jensen's fingers felt wonderful on his overheated skin. The massage really _did_ help his headache, but that wasn't the only endgame he had in mind. "Come here, Jensen."

Laughing softly, Jensen leaned forward until Jared could feel his breath ghost across his cheek. "Any closer and I'll be right on top of you," he said.

"That's the point," Jared confessed, opening his eyes and lifting his head to kiss Jensen for real this time.

Jensen's lips were soft against his own chapped ones. Jared sighed and lifted his hands to cradle Jensen's face. It was everything he'd imagined it to be, right in a way that kissing never was before. He believed in true love, and he knew that he'd never love anyone like he loved Jensen.

"Oh," Jensen said as soon as Jared let him pull away. He looked dazed, but a flush quickly spread across his cheekbones.

"That bad, huh?" Jared teased, trying to make Jensen more comfortable.

"No! No, it was good," Jensen earnestly replied lifting one hand in the air to gesture. "It was awesome."

They both moved at once, and somehow, Jensen overbalanced, landing with a thud right on top of Jared's sore body. He yelped and Jensen quickly rolled to the side, apologizing, "I'm such a klutz, I'm so sorry, Jared!"

"It's okay, Jensen," Jared assured him, wincing at the new tenderness he felt. "Maybe I got a little ahead of myself."

"I should let you rest."

"Maybe you should rest with me," Jared offered, not wanting to let Jensen out of his sight where Jensen could talk himself out of trying for any kind of relationship.

Jensen worried his lip between his teeth, "I don't know if that's the best idea."

"Sure, it's okay if you don't want to," Jared reassured Jensen, even though he really wanted to beg Jensen to stay. "But I'd like for you to. We can sleep; I'm not really up for anything else anyway."

Jensen colored again, but instead of getting up, he settled next to Jared and put a cautious hand on Jared's belly, "Is this okay?"

"Oh, yeah," Jared said, dropping onto his pillow. He lifted his hand and put it on top of Jensen's. "This is more than okay."

He must have been more tired than he thought because the second he closed his eyes, he drifted off, barely hearing Jensen's soft, "Goodnight, Jared."

 

  


 

Jared blinked off the residual energy from the gummi transporters and found they'd landed in an empty alleyway in the middle of some kind of urban sprawl. Nothing against forests, but he felt grateful to be in a city again; he wanted a new shield to match the growing power of the Heartless they had to fight.

Somewhere nearby a series of explosions went off and echoed down the stone walls. Jared pulled his matched set of shields off their hooks on his hips and gripped them tight. They'd been made for offensive combat, throwing at enemies and letting Jared close in for hand to hand combat. With all the unresolved sexual tension flowing through his body, he was more than ready to get into a brawl.

"I think that's our cue, guys," Jensen said, pulling his keyblade into his hands as he grinned over his shoulder at Jared.

Jared grinned back, and executed an ironic bow, his shields glinted brightly in the sunlight. "After you Keyblade Master," he said, knowing that Jensen's destiny was to forever be leading the fight just as his would be to make sure nothing ever happened to Jensen.

"Don't mind if I do," Jensen answered, tipping his imaginary hat as he jogged past Jared and out of the alley.

Chad followed right on Jensen's heels rolling his eyes as he muttered, "The two of you are enough to turn a man's stomach."

"Don't be jealous, sweetheart," Jared teased, and blew a kiss in Chad's direction.

"As if," Chad pretended to shudder as he nimbly leaped over a pile of stacked crates as they followed Jensen. "I've heard you snore."

Bantering with Chad was an age old cure for Jared's nerves. He settled into his defender head space, watching everyone and everything for possible threats to his friends. People clumped everywhere, more than they'd seen in the past several worlds, but no one looked concerned. No one looked like they were about to be set upon by monsters.

Jared skidded to a stop beside Jensen in what looked like a cleared marketplace. People in colorful costumes flocked everywhere, eating, drinking, dancing, and laughing. He had to duck under a string of decorations connecting from ribboned pole to ribboned pole. Apparently they'd stumbled right into the midst of a party.

"Guys, I'm not really getting a sense of imminent danger here," Jensen said, straightening and carefully banishing the keyblade before it called unwanted attention down on them. "Think the gummi ship made a mistake?"

"Hey, the gummi ship doesn't make mistakes!" Chad defended his baby, quickly sliding his wand into the pseudo-holster on his thigh. "If we're here, it's because there are Heartless here. Somewhere."

Music poured in from the other side of the square along with, if it was possible, even more people. They pressed in and Jared automatically shifted closer to Jensen trying to protect him from the crush. Someone bumped into him and he turned to see a young lady with the same sparkling green eyes that Jensen had, but a head full of curly raven hair.

"Oh, excuse me," she asked, covering her mouth with a hand.

"It's no problem, ma'am," Jared said, smiling at her before he turned to Jensen and Chad. "Looks like a party to me. There's so many people in costume, though, it'd be easy for a Heartless to sneak in."

Just then a giant strode into the square, and it took Jared a few seconds of disbelief before he realized that the height came from a pair of stilts. The man's clothing mixed green, yellow, and purple from his feet up to his feathered mask. He started singing, and Jared saw Jensen smack himself in the face with his palm.

"Well here look three likely lads," the man said as the population took over the song from him at the chorus. He dipped down low to speak to them over the din of noise. "This your first festival?"

Chad nodded for them.

"Enjoy, but beware," the man winked broadly at Jared and grinned hard enough to move his mask, "never know when you'll lose your pants at the Festival of Fools!"

Like a slap to the back of the head, Jared gaped down and realized that his pants were far too loose to still be tied. His lucky belt, the one the King had presented him when he made Knight, was gone. He looked up frantically, "She stole my belt!"

"Liberated, good sir! I have liberated your belt!"

With a bang and a flash of colored fireworks, the woman from before swung over the crowd and leaped onto a staged platform. She'd changed her clothing from plain to an elaborate costume of flowing red veils. The band changed from a merry dance to a tune that flowed with sultry promise and dark fantasies.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" the man on the stilts yelled, gesturing expansively from the crowd to the stage, "I present to you, _Esmeralda_!"

She started singing, but Jared honestly couldn't make out a single word that she said because he was so distracted by the dance. She whirled and stretched, flexing her body into impossible poses as she used Jared's belt for extra leverage and to snap anyone who tried to touch her without permission.

"Wow," Chad said, following up his statement of fact with a low whistle.

Jared blinked and reflexively wiped his chin in case of a drool accident. He could turn his head not wanting to take his eyes off her. She was amazing, the way she moved and knew exactly what was going on around her. Put a pair of matched daggers in her hands, and Jared would bet on her over half his garrison. "You can say that again," he said as she sank down with her legs in front and behind her.

"_Wow._"

"You like that, huh?" Jensen asked, his voice oddly hollow in the middle of all the noise.

Humming as Esmeralda executed a near perfect spin-kick that could have taken the head off a Heartless, Jared answered idly, "What's not to like?"

"Wow."

"Give it a break, Chad," Jensen said, his tone sharp enough that Jared looked over at him in surprise. The freckles on Jensen face stood out from the low flush that meant he was about two seconds away from a real incident.

Chad grabbed both Jared and Jensen's arms and turned them ninety degrees to the right, off to the side of the stage Esmeralda danced on were a mob of people had turned their attention to something else. "No, I mean – wow, would you look at that!" he said as a lone figure got pushed out of the crowd and up on the stage. "Have you ever seen anything so ugly? Think it's a Heartless?"

The man certainly wouldn't win any beauty contests, but Jared knew Heartless, and that man was just a man. He felt the mood of the crowd shift, from frantic merry-making to something more malicious and he tightened his hands on his shields.

"That's no Heartless," Jensen said before Jared could, and he started shoving his way through the crowd, leaving them to follow in his wake. "But he's going to need some help."

Looked like he might get his fight after all. There wouldn't be any changing Jensen's mind, but they'd have to be careful not to upset the world too much. Up on stage, the original singer had disposed of his stilts and started directing some sort of contest. The ugly man won and got crowned on the spot, but within seconds, the mob turned on him and pelted him with soured fruit and vegetables. The man pleaded to be let go and used his massive frame to struggle with the bonds the crowd through over him, but he couldn't get free.

"Stop! Stop this!" Esmeralda cried, trying to calm everyone down. "He's a man! He's like us!"

Jared passed Jensen and used his broader frame to clear a quicker path through the jeering crowd. He pushed and elbowed, though he made sure not to do any real harm until they could jump up on the stage.

"Leave him alone!" Jensen shouted, dropping into a fighting stance with his keyblade solid in his grip. "This isn't right."

Taking up his place to Jensen's right, Jared surveyed the crowd. They were normal people, with no sign that the Heartless had ever come anywhere near. He felt sad knowing that there were worlds where such hatred toward kinsmen was still the norm. Chad sent a warning shot of thunder over their heads, probably hoping that would be the end of the confrontation.

The crowd gasped and backed up as if they moved with one mind. The immediate silence clearly damned them and seemed to ring as loud as the previous noise. Jensen used the distraction to break the ugly man's chain and pull him up next to them. Slowly, Jared heard whispers that slowly grew until one word was clear.

"Witches!"

Suddenly a strong voice came from the side, a man who'd watched the previous abuse without so much as a word. "Guards! Kill the witches, but bring the woman and the monster to me," he spoke both like a man used to being obeyed and like a man who cared little for anyone besides himself.

Soldiers poured in from the edges of the square, but the crowds hampered their progress. Jared turned to speak to Jensen, but that, of course, was when the Heartless decided to pop into existence to fight for the keyblade. At least it got the crowd moving away and gave them a little more room to work as the monsters destroyed the decorations and chased the people too slow to move on their own.

The Heartless came at them in three waves. First the tiny black shadows that were more irritating than anything else because of their ability to flatten low on the ground to avoid attack. The second wave consisted of more dangerous air soldiers who could zoom through the air and dodge his thrown shields with agility. The last wave were new, fast and sparked with barely contained energy.

"Careful, Chad, Jensen!" he yelled, beating a soldier down and pummeling it until it broke apart in black smoke and released its stolen heart. He looked up in time to see Jensen summersault over a trio of shadows and take them all out with one swing, "Looks like the new ones have magic shields!"

Jared turned and barely avoided getting smacked in the chest as Chad's body went flying past, sped by the power of his own spell that the new Heartless had reflected straight into his face. He quickly sent the descending Heartless spinning away by aiming his shields at them and letting them fly. Catching his weapons as they ricocheted from the monsters, Jared kneeled down at Chad's side.

"Thanks for the warning, buddy," Chad said, obviously woozy with smoke drifting up out of his throat. He shook his head and used Jared's body to push himself up to his feet. "Come on, Jare, we don't want Jensen to have all the fun!"

Smiling, Jared bumped his fist with Chad and then used a hi-potion to up Chad's health before he could jump away. "Come on, bro," Jared said, lacing his fingers together to make a stirrup. He bent down so Chad could slip his foot in. "Let's smash some Heartless!"

He heaved up with all his power and sent Chad flying over the battle so he could pinpoint the Heartless without the reflect spell and blast them to oblivion. He landed safely on the other side of the stage and started dueling with one of the air soldiers. Jared whooped and joined fray himself, fighting until he got to Jensen's side and together, they took out the new breed of monsters.

The fight came to an end, the three of them back to back to back panting in the middle of the stage. The majority of the crowd had stampeded away, but there were always those that stayed despite the danger to see a fight.

Jared turned to give Jensen a high five, but Jensen glared and turned his attention past Jared's shoulder where Esmeralda helped the ugly man to stand. Jared turned too, and noticed from the destruction around them, that they must have taken out a Heartless or two themselves. He always liked it when the locals turned out to be good in a fight.

"Guards, seize them all!"

Apparently the man hadn't taken the opportunity to run either. Now Jared could see his tall somber frame and the fanatical gleam in his eyes and knew that they were dealing with a man heartless in his own way. He was the kind of villain that Jared liked best to defeat.

"Not even a thank you. Really, what are the worlds coming to?" Chad pretended to pout as he backed up behind Jensen and Jared. He put up a good front, but Jared could see that the fight had taken a lot out of his friend. Unfortunately, he didn't have any ethers to share and Chad would have to gather his strength the old fashioned way.

"This way! Come with me!" Esmeralda yelled as she ran by them, headed straight at the man.

Jared couldn't see any way out, so he looked at Jensen and shrugged. "Sure, why not," he said, and followed the woman before Jensen could cut in front of him. If they were headed right into a battle or ambush, Jared wanted to be able to stall for time until Jensen could get away. They couldn't afford for the keyblade master to be hurt.

Esmeralda ran right to the end of the stage and then took a leaping jump to grab a pole and swung herself up on the roof of the building right next to them.

Grinning, Jared knew that they could all get away before the soldiers got to them. He jumped and used his momentum to swing around to land nimbly on the roof. There, he paused, unwilling to go any farther by himself. Jensen made the jump easy, loving the new high jump ability they'd won a few worlds behind them. He had to reach out and grab Chad's jacket though, to pull his partner the right way after a bad release.

"Get them! Scour the city and do whatever is necessary to bring that woman and the others back to me!"

Jared sketched an ironic salute down at the man as the others scrambled down the opposite side of the roof following the woman. He paused, looking for the ugly man, but there was no sign of him. He must have escaped while everyone looked at them and Esmeralda.

The extra second's pause meant that Jared was still there to see the doorway of darkness open up in an out of the way corner of the town square. His breath caught in his throat as he saw the familiar figure step out of the clutching shadows. Kane's eyes glowed more brightly even in full daylight, and Jared shivered at the cold that touched his heart.

"Jared!"

Without another look, Jared jumped over the top of the roof and slid down to where everyone waited for him.

"This way," Esmeralda said, dropping like a cat down to the cobblestoned street. She led them through so many twists and turns that Jared honestly didn't think that he could have found his way to where they'd started. She paused at a small side door located at the back of a building bigger and grander than any they'd seen yet on their mission. "In here, we'll be safe."

Jared piled in right after Jensen, pressing close in the pitch black interior of the building. He didn't want to get separated in case there were any traps laid by Kane or the Heartless. He felt Chad grab a handful of his vest and knew that they were on the same wavelength.

They moved in far enough to give Esmeralda room to join them and then stopped, waiting. Jared had to throw a hand up to shield his eyes when she lit a lantern and held it over her head. The light moved up, illuminating rafters, and stained-glass windows, and a curving staircase.

"Welcome to the Notre Dame," she said with a small smile.

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()Jensen()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()() 

 

Jensen knew he shouldn't be so annoyed, but he still sulked at the rear of the group while Jared made their introductions. Esmeralda was a beautiful woman, and he could easily see why Jared would be taken with her. Didn't mean he had to like it.

The church wasn't helping matters either. The tall ceiling and echoing chambers made him nervous thinking about all the places a Heartless could hide. Something else wasn't sitting right inside him, but he couldn't put his finger on it past his irritation with Jared.

He'd thought that after they'd woken up together this morning it would be easier for him to settle into whatever it was they were doing. It still felt odd, but he couldn't deny the thrill that shot through his skin every time Jared touched him. He wanted to explore it, but if Jared was jerking him around then he didn't know what he'd do. Jared was his rock.

"I need to go find the Archdeacon," Esmeralda said, untying a shawl from around her waist to cover her head. "You should be safe if you stay here. Don't go outside yet."

She walked away, but Jensen waited until even the echo of her footsteps faded before he pivoted on his heels. He still avoided Jared's eyes and moved around a statue of an unknown saint so that they wouldn't accidently touch while Jared spun around with his neck craned trying to look at everything all at once.

Chad craned his neck between them and coughed somewhat delicately. "You know, I think I'm going to go look for the little traveler-from-another-world's room," he said, backing away as if scared to turn his back on them. He waited until he'd cleared the corridor and then quickly ducked away.

"Finally, we're alone," Jared said softly, sidling up to Jensen and wrapping his arm around Jensen's shoulders. He lowered his head and nosed gently along Jensen's cheek.

"Jared!" Jensen hissed, jerking away and looking around to make sure no one had seen them. The halls were just as empty as before, but he glared angrily, "You can't do things like that in a church."

Jared scrunched his eyebrows down in a move that Jensen tried really hard not to find adorable. He stepped away and dropped his hands, obviously confused. "What's a church?" he finally asked.

"Of course," Jensen could have slapped himself on the forehead. He felt in his heart that they belonged together, but he still forgot that Jared was basically an alien. Or he was. Whatever. "Churches are holy. No kissing zones."

"That's silly," Jared said, inching closer until he could grab both sides of Jensen's hips in his wide palms. "Besides, it's not your church."

Jensen struggled with himself, trying to decide whether to pull away or push closer. If this was what Kane felt for Danneel, then maybe he could understand why the darkness had driven his friend to madness. Jared felt so good, and Jensen couldn't believe he'd never thought of the possibility of a man with a man himself.

"Not here, Jared," Jensen finally said, physically pulling Jared's hands off so he could step away. The need and attraction he felt for Jared almost smothered him, making his chest burn and constrict with _want_ like he'd never felt before.

"Sure, Jensen," Jared said, his smile faltered even though he kept his tone light. "Hey, are you all right?"

"I'm fine," Jensen said automatically, rubbing his hands up and down his arms. The air in the church chilled him, but it wasn't cold enough to really make him shiver. He'd been fine before, he realized, before when he didn't have anything to lose.

Already, he couldn't imagine his life without Jared.

He took a deep breath and grasped for something to keep Jared from seeing what really bothered him. "I- You know. What they were doing to that man out there was horrible," Jensen said, still upset about the depth of cruelty people. "He was just a guy, and he looked so happy for that short sixty seconds before they turned on him."

"Thank you," a voice said quietly from a darkened recess behind Jensen.

Before Jensen could summon the keyblade, Jared pulled him away by the material of his jacket and interposed himself between him and the darkness. His shields flashed like colorful jewels in the dim light from the windows.

"I mean you no harm," the voice said quickly. A darker shadow separated itself and moved further into the light until Jensen could see that it was the ugly man. "My name is Quasimodo."

Jensen put a calming hand on Jared's bicep and bumped their shoulders together until Jared lowered his arms. "I'm Jensen," he said, "This is Jared and-"

"Holy mother of ugly fuckers!"

Jensen blinked, rolled his eyes and put on his best _sorry about the douche_ face before he continued, "And this is Chad. Don't pay any attention to him, I don't."

"Hey!" Chad yelled, fisting his hands on his hips. "I tell the truth, I can't help it if people can't take it."

"Yeah, but you don't have to be a jerk about it," Jared said, shoving Chad into the wall.

"No, it's okay," Quasimodo said, his voice sounded so gentle that Jensen found it hard to believe that it came from such a hunchbacked deformed creature. "I know what I am. You all need to come with me now. The soldiers have surrounded the church and Esmeralda asked me to find her a way out."

Esmeralda again, Jensen stifled the urge to curl his lip. It was insane, he was acting insane. As far as he could tell, Esmeralda happened to be one of those unique individuals who were suited for being the hero. Her beauty only added up to part of the equation, she'd also shown that she could be courageous and had a good heart.

If Jared picked her over him, then he should be happy for the both of them. If Kane and Danneel were meant to be together, he should be happy for them too. It might mean that he'd be alone forever, but somehow he'd always figured that would be his path.

"Jensen, are you coming?" Quasimodo asked, hanging off a lantern scone on the wall while he gestured for them to pass by him in the narrow hidden staircase.

Jared looked over his shoulder with concern written plainly all over his face.

"Yeah, I'm right behind you," Jensen said, passing Jared so he could follow Chad and try to keep the wizard out of trouble, as if anybody could. At least it might keep his mind off his own troubles for a little bit.

Quasimodo led them up a flight of stairs where they found Esmeralda waiting. The hunchback took her hand and then led them all on an insane path through the rafters, over the ramparts and down the rain gutters. Jensen slipped once, hanging a hundred feet above the courtyard, but Jared caught and steadied him until he got his feet under him.

"Thanks," he whispered, his heart still beating a mile a minute inside his chest.

"Anytime," Jared replied, his mouth so close to Jensen's ear that he could feel Jared's lips move. He kept hold of Jensen's waist until they made it safely inside the church, and even then he squeezed Jensen once as if he were reluctant to let go.

"Here, this is where you can pass by the guards," Quasimodo said, swinging open a large grate in the floor. "But you should hurry in case Master remembers it soon."

Esmeralda caught Jared's eye and asked, "Do you three have any place to go?"

After exchanging glances with Jensen and Chad, Jared shrugged, "Not particularly. We kinda came to town to fight those monsters. Didn't really expect to be voted public enemy number one."

"You can come with me then," she said, shifting to sit on the floor with her feet hanging through the hole. "We can at least give you a place for a night's rest and maybe in the morning we can help each other out."

Jensen studied the rough edges of his fingernails, but he could still feel the weight of Jared's gaze. Finally, Jared sighed, "Yeah, sounds like a plan."

"Quasimodo, I want to give you this," Esmeralda said as she slipped something from around her own neck and over his. "If you ever need me, remember that you wear a map of Paris around your neck."

The two of them hugged and then Quasimodo gently took her hands and lowered her to the tunnel below. He turned and offered his help to Chad, but the wizard shook his head and jumped down himself. A second later, they heard a splash and the sound of him cursing.

Smirking, Jared bent over and slowly dropped in a more graceful and probably less wet jump. Jensen stuck out his hand for Quasimodo to shake. "Thanks," he said, realizing that even if Quasimodo was a monster, he had kind eyes and a kind heart. "We'll be around for a little while if you need us."

"Thank you, Jensen," Quasimodo said, ducking his head.

Jensen crouched and held on to the edge of the hole as he extended his legs down. When he stretched out as much as he could he let go and dropped the last few feet to the ground. "Okay," he asked, brushing the grime from his hands off on his pants. "Now what?"

"Now," Esmeralda said, striking flint together to light a lantern, "I take you to the Court of Miracles."

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()Jensen()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()() 

 

It took them over an hour to make their way through the guts of Paris to the Court of Miracles. They had to go topside twice, and each time, Jensen couldn't help but feel eyes watching everything he did. He shivered and urged the group to hurry until they descended through a fake crypt into yet another set of tunnels.

Before too long, a group of rough looking people surrounded them and demanded to know their business. Though, once they saw Esmeralda, they were all smiles, and as her guest, the three of them were admitted as well.

"Gentlemen, I present to you, the Court of Miracles," said the man who they'd originally met at the Festival of Fools whose name was Clopin.

Out of necessity, the gypsies and other hunted people had retreated underground hiding from the discrimination they faced from the native Frenchmen. Lights and decorations made it seem less like a dank dungeon and more like a home. Seating and tables of modest but plentiful food made the place Heaven as far as Jensen was concerned.

Chad had already zeroed in on a group of young, but not too young, ladies to woo with his stories of adventure and daring. Jensen tried not to roll his eyes. Usually watching Chad get shot down was a fun diversion, but he simply wasn't in the mood.

"I'm going to go get some food," he said, raising his voice loud enough to be heard over the little band playing from the other side of the room. "You go find us someplace to sit."

"Okay," Jared agreed, but then he jerked his head to the side in a double take. "Wait, I've got to do something first. I'll meet you in a sec."

Jensen tried really hard not to let his heart break as he watched Jared walk away from him and straight to where Esmeralda held conference with half a dozen other gypsies. He turned away, unwilling to watch while she got everything that he wanted. At the food tables, he piled too much food on his plate, especially since he didn't think he'd probably ever be hungry again.

He took a seat on the first empty couch he came to, glad that it was pushed out of the way from most the traffic. Watching with disinterest, he saw the girls con Chad into a ring dance and then leave him looking like a fool while they giggled off together. He nibbled on a piece of fruit.

"Hey, I thought you were going to come back to me."

Jensen jerked his head up, "What?"

Jared smiled down and then took a seat on the couch, right next to Jensen so that their bodies touched from knee to shoulder. Then as if that wasn't enough of a tease, he slung his arm around Jensen's shoulders and leaned in to take a piece of bread off Jensen's plate.

"What are you doing?" he asked stupidly, not understanding why Jared was there with him when he could have been with Esmeralda. If she'd turned him down then obviously she wasn't as smart as he'd given her credit for.

"Eating," Jared said as he crammed the food in his mouth. He ended up dropping crumbs all over Jensen's clothes as he spoke. "Sorry."

Shaking his head, Jensen tried to inch away from Jared's octopus arms, "No, I mean. I thought that you and Esmeralda were…"

The smile dropped from Jared's face, his dimples smoothing out. "I went to get my belt," he said, shifting his hips so that Jensen couldn't help but look down to see the buckle of the King's three circles peeking out from under Jared's shirt. "What did you think I was doing?"

Suddenly, Jensen felt beyond stupid, and awful for assuming that Jared would ever be mean enough to lead Jensen on and then rub his face in his own failure. "Nothing, nothing," he said, and laughed nervously, trying to pass it off as a bad joke. "Try the grapes."

"Jensen, look at me," Jared said. When he couldn't seem to lift his face, Jared reached with a warm hand and caught Jensen's chin, turning him until he had to look Jared in the face. "I thought you understood. I have _never_ felt this way about anyone but you. This is it Jensen. I belong to you."

Jensen struggled with himself. He wanted, badly, to say or do something to reassure Jared that he felt the same way, but he couldn't help remembering all the people surrounding them. He didn't know what they'd think. If they'd kick them out or try to kill them on the spot. Maybe that's why there weren't any male pairings in Texas.

"It's the Court of Miracles, Jensen," Jared said quietly, leaning close so Jensen felt safe inside Jared's strength. "No one will care what we do here as long as we're not hurting anyone."

Blinking, Jensen finally really looked around him and saw that there were several same-sex couples, including a pair of women so tangled with each other that he honestly couldn't tell where one stopped and the other began. He knew that Jared must be right; these weren't the kind of people who judged others.

"Kiss me."

"I – what?"

Jared tugged Jensen's shoulder and twisted on the couch to face Jensen. The soft light from the torches washed the planes of his face with soft red and orange. "I know this is new to you," Jared said slowly, "but I'd really like to know that you want this too. That you want me."

Reflexively, Jensen looked around again still not quite able to believe that so many worlds accepted two men loving each other when his own world couldn't even bear the thought of the possibility. He slowly inched his way further into Jared's body and put his hand on Jared's thigh as he turned.

He could feel his heart beating like a wild thing caught in his chest, and he couldn't quite lift his eyes to meet Jared's. It wasn't like he'd never kissed anyone before. With the girls at home kissing had rules, but when he managed to get Joanna to give him the time of day, it had been a fling, casually started and forgettable in its end. Besides Kane and Danneel, Jensen hadn't ever had a relationship so important to him. There was so much he could screw up.

"It's okay, Jensen. Everything's gonna be fine," Jared said, pulling his arm away from Jensen's shoulders and scooting away.

Jensen pounced, lifted his hands and grabbed Jared's head to hold his face still while Jensen leaned forward and pressed a frantic kiss to the side of Jared's mouth. He dropped his hands and fisted Jared's vest, holding him close as Jensen shut his eyes and slid their mouths together. That kiss made fire flare up in his belly like their real first kiss had. Jared's stubble rubbed across his chin, but he couldn't help shifting, trying to get even closer.

He hadn't realized how much he felt like he'd been drifting since the Heartless had destroyed Texas. Everything that made him, _him_ came from identifying as a Texan – from the horses, the round-ups, and the endless days doing honest work to the food and soft guitar music. It had always been Kane and Danneel who pushed to find a way to visit other worlds. Now Jensen was the visitor, never actually home, and always forced to leave new friends behind.

Jared made all that better. He only had to touch Jensen for him to feel safe, like he had a place that was his and no one else's. Jensen couldn't believe that he'd taken it for granted for so long, but Jared had never _just_ been a friend. He realized that he'd fallen in love at first sight, and been too ignorant to know how very lucky he'd been.

Underneath him, Jared sighed and opened his mouth wider, tickling Jensen's lips with his tongue. He stoked in softly, giving Jensen every opportunity to pull away. When Jensen stayed put, Jared wrapped his hand across Jensen's neck, urging his head down and his mouth wider.

Jensen couldn't help moaning a little as Jared licked into his mouth and teased until Jensen pushed back. The room had already been warm, but the furnace building between their bodies made sweat break out all the way down his spine. He wiggled closer, rubbing his body against as much of Jared that he could reach. He felt completely out of control, but with Jared, he knew he'd be okay.

Finally he broke away, gasping quickly for air before he dived back in, kissing across Jared's jaw and down his neck. He lapped at the hollow underneath Jared's ear and hummed under his breath when he felt Jared's hands skim down his sides and grab his hips. Jared's hands were perfect, huge and everything they did, Jensen loved.

"Guys."

Jared shifted and suddenly Jensen felt an answering hardness next to his own. Only a few thin layers of clothing separated his cock from Jared's, and while the idea should have been terrifying, Jensen needed something more. On instinct, he rolled his hips down and almost came right then when Jared groaned and bucked up to meet him.

"Hey, guys."

The voice finally penetrated the pleasure haze in his mind, and Jensen looked up to realize that he'd climbed up in Jared's lap. No one looked directly at them, but he colored when he realized what a show they must be putting on. For his part, Jared looked completely wrecked, glassy eyes and panting with kiss-plumped lips as he ignored everything else but Jensen.

"Um, sorry?" Jensen tried, sure that he didn't feel very sorry at all.

Esmeralda laughed and her eyes gleamed as she shook her head at them. "There are guest quarters through the right tunnel there," she said, gesturing to the side. "Flip the card to the side so everyone will know the room is occupied."

"Thanks," Jensen answered, glad that she hadn't poked fun at them losing their control. He tried to slide off Jared's lap, but Jared wouldn't let him. "Hey, you need to let go now."

"I do, huh?" Jared teased, smiling hard enough that his dimples stood out. "Says who?"

Tightening his grip on Jensen's hips, Jared drew them closer together, before he gathered his strength and heaved them both up. Jensen couldn't believe it; he knew Jared was a big guy, but he wasn't exactly a lightweight himself. Jared made it look effortless, and before he could really react, Jensen wrapped his legs around Jared's waist for extra leverage.

"Whoa," Jensen said, looking over his shoulder at the ground. He kept his hands tight around Jared's neck.

"Now, which way was it?" Jared asked Esmeralda, acting as if he always picked Jensen up and carried him around like a teddy bear.

Esmeralda pointed and laughed, "There's a trunk next to the bed. You should find all the items necessary to spend a pleasant night."

Jared nodded his thanks, bounced Jensen up a little higher and then walked straight past everyone on his way out.

Jensen tried not to look, but he could only imagine the spectacle they made. When they got to the exit, he heard one of the girls say, _Wow, what a lucky man._ He brushed his fingers up into the curls of Jared's hair and couldn't help but agree.

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()Jensen()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()() 

 

They waited underground for two days hoping that the heat would back off. Instead, the Judge increased patrols, put prices on their heads, and started persecuting the innocent common folk. The Court of Miracles drew in those with no other place to go until all the rooms filled and then overflowed.

Jensen ground his teeth with irritation, but there wasn't anything he could do. For some reason, the Heartless kept a low profile, and Jared reminded him that they couldn't interfere in the world order, no matter how much they disagreed with it. It rankled, but Jensen knew how important his job made it to support the world's heroes instead of taking over himself. He nearly lost all his self control when a group of orphaned children arrived looking for asylum.

Thankfully, Jared found the perfect way to distract him and then leave him in a pleasant state of bliss for the next hour or so.

"C'mere, I want to try something new," Jared said, rolling to the side halfway through a make-out session. The bed was barely big enough to fit them both lying side by side, but Jared got around that by spending most of his time on top of Jensen.

Immediately, Jensen missed Jared's heat and strength holding him down on the bed. Since the first time, when Jared had opened him up on his belly, they'd done it face to face with him on his back. After the initial strangeness, he found that he liked Jared holding him open and kissing him breathless.

"What?" Jensen asked, curiosity and a tiny bit of insecurity warring inside him, but Jared just kept tugging until Jensen followed him and rolled on top of Jared's wide chest. "Hi."

"Hi," Jared smiled, kissing Jensen's nose. In the past day, he'd made it a point to kiss every single inch of Jensen's flesh. Repeatedly. "Sit up, I want you to ride me."

With Jared's urging, Jensen straightened and pushed himself up until he straddled Jared's waist. The lanterns hanging on the wall made strange shadows flicker over Jared's face. He cocked his head, trying to understand what Jared asked for, "Like a horse?"

"Not quite, cowboy," Jared teased and reached around Jensen's hips to knead his ass. "You never did this with a girlfriend?"

Jensen flushed, both at his own inexperience and because Jared dipped his fingers down, rubbing them across his hole. "No," he said quietly. "Mostly she was on her back and I stayed above her between her legs. Like you do to me."

He'd been embarrassed at first, but Jared eased him through it, showing him how good it felt to have Jared inside him. None of the other times he'd fucked his girlfriends had ever felt as intimate as Jared holding his eyes while slowly pushing into Jensen's body. It was like all his life he'd been walking around looking at things in black and white, but suddenly now he could see in technicolor.

Now when Jared touched him, he shivered remembering how Jared's hands could take him apart and put him back together. He knew what Jared looked like when he didn't have any masks on, and Jensen had felt their hearts beat as one. No one else had ever been as close to him as Jared, and their new relationship was probably the scariest and most wonderful ride Jensen had ever experienced.

"Okay, follow me," Jared used one hand to scoot up the bed and the other to tug Jensen to walk forward on his knees. When he reached the headboard, Jared lifted up and put his back against it. "Remember that first night? When you sat on my lap?"

Jensen nodded; he settled back on his heels and felt Jared's cock brush against the inside of his thighs. He palmed the side of Jared's neck and leaned up, pressing their mouths tight together. After several seconds, he tried to pull away, but Jared held him still. His eyes popped open and he found Jared looking back at him, eyes full of heat and need.

So close, Jensen felt like Jared must be able to see straight into his heart and know all the things that he wanted to say but couldn't yet. His burning lungs suddenly didn't seem as important as getting as close as he possibly could. At the last second, when Jensen felt like his chest would explode, Jared let him go to take deep panting breaths.

Diving back in, Jensen wiggled, rubbing their chests together as Jared dipped his fingers back between his thighs and slid a slick finger into his ass. He felt like a drowning man given his first taste of water, and if Jared didn't start fucking him soon, Jensen had the sinking feeling there might be a song in their future.

"Do it," he said, lips still moving against Jared's mouth. "I'm still loose from this morning."

"I don't wanna hurt you," Jared replied, easing a second finger in beside the first.

After another kiss, Jensen took matters into his own hands. He groped to the side until he found the vial of oil they used to ease the way, and dribbled it over his hand. With two long jerks on Jared's cock, Jensen had him distracted enough to be putty in his hands. "You wouldn't ever hurt me," he answered, dislodging Jared's fingers only to sink down slowly Jared's cock.

Jared groaned, the tendons on his neck standing out as he struggled to stay still. "Shit," he said, blinking the sweat out of his eyes, "I think _you're_ trying to kill _me_."

"You've finally caught on to my diabolical scheme," Jensen ground out, relaxing his muscles until he found himself fully seated across Jared's hips. It burned a little bit, but the look on Jared's face made it all worth it. "I'mma kill you to take your collection of lucid gems."

"They're yours if you start moving five seconds ago," Jared promised, his fingers spasming around Jensen's waist.

Jensen moved and the world outside their door stopped turning until they eventually wandered out for dinner.

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()Jensen()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()() 

 

Everything changed on the fourth day.

"There's a new man with Judge Frollo," the gypsy said, gasping as Clopin cleaned a wound on the man's head. "Maybe it's a man, though he acts like the very devil himself. He stays in the shadows, and wears a hood, but I saw his face once. It was terrible and his eyes glowed yellow with the very fires of Hell."

Jensen's blood ran cold. Kane was there, on the world with them. _So close._ He turned to Jared, but instantly saw that something was wrong; for the first time since they'd started sleeping together, Jared wouldn't meet his eyes. His heart dropped as he put the pieces together. He'd felt something that first night, and it had to have been Kane.

"You knew, didn't you?" he accused, stepping away from Jared, stung and betrayed. His vision swam as he forced himself to stand steady on his own two feet. "You knew Kane was here and you didn't tell me."

"Jensen, I don't want him to hurt you again," Jared said, balling his hands into fists on his legs. "I was trying to protect you."

He didn't even know that he could get so angry, and never could have imagined that he'd feel that way toward Jared. "I am the keyblade master, Jared," he said, voice tight as he tried not to yell. "You don't get to decide what to protect me from. You _know_ I've been looking for Kane. How would you like it if I saw King JDM and didn't tell you?"

"Jensen-"

"No, shut up, Chad!" Jensen yelled, completely losing it. Kane could be long gone, or he could have done something that he'd never forgive himself for later. All the destruction in this world could have been because Jared decided to be a lousy hypocrite in what they could and could not get involved with. "For once just _shut your fucking mouth_!"

Chad glowered, but crossed his hands over his chest while he stood there silently.

"Jensen," Jared said, and his voice sounded broken by that one word. He sunk down to his knees and reached out, but Jensen stumbled away.

"How can I trust you?" Jensen asked, sadness welling up inside his heart. Jared might have acted in what he thought were Jensen's best interests, but Jensen couldn't believe it. He thought they'd become partners in everything, but he must have been totally wrong. "Why?"

Not waiting for a response, he took off running and picked a direction at random. Jensen splashed through tunnels seeking a little privacy to have his break down. He'd have to go after Kane, and now he'd have to do it alone if he couldn't trust that Chad and Jared would have his back. The prospect looked bleak.

He'd be betting everything, the chance to find Danneel, and the future of every world he'd visited that there'd still be some small bit of Kane left in there. A small piece of his friend who would still listen to reason and hadn't been consumed by the darkness. Jensen prayed that he wasn't making a huge mistake.

Before he realized, Jensen had made it all the way to the end of the tunnel and looked up at the grate above him. He could barely see the night sky through the bars, but he was overcome by the need to see the stars after so long stuck underground. He pushed the grate aside, and climbed up into the street.

The air smelled so much fresher above, and he hadn't realized how much he'd missed the wind. Even inside the city, there was a breeze blowing. It was still early in the evening, but the streets were deserted, probably because of Frollo and Kane's new policy of arresting anyone out after twilight.

Jensen heard footsteps and quickly retreated into the shadows of the building beside him, making it barely in time. A battalion of Heartless, better controlled than he'd ever seen them before marched by the end of the alley. They were bigger than the soldiers he'd fought before, and better armored against attack. Through the darkness, he could see that he'd have to destroy their suits before he could start in on them. It'd take twice the time and twice the effort.

Creeping silently, Jensen managed to get to the end of the alley in time to see the Heartless surround a small book shop. A hooded figure in the front banged on the door until it opened, revealing a small scared man.

"You've been accused of witchcraft and selling contraband materials," Kane's voice was low but unmistakable. "How do you plead?"

"Mercy! Please have mercy, monsieur!" the man begged, falling to his knees and taking Kane's cloak in his hands.

Kane pushed his hood down on his shoulders and snarled, kicking the man away from him. Even from the distance, Jensen could see his eyes glowing with a fierce yellow light. He snapped his fingers and the Heartless descended, mindless killing machines once again.

"No!" Jensen yelled springing into action before he could knew what he was doing. He couldn't sit idly by while the Heartless took another heart. The keyblade flashed into his hands and he struck as hard as he could into the ground, using the magic he'd learned to send out an explosion to stun all the monsters.

Unexpectedly, Kane held his position, letting the Heartless form a line in front of him that Jensen needed to break through. The fight raged on, but Jensen managed to destroy all the armor and set the captive hearts free. Unfortunately, he'd used up his diminished supply of potions and ethers during the battle. At barely a quarter strength, Jensen took up a guard position and finally faced Kane.

"Are you sure you want to do this, Jensen?" Kane asked, summoning his own weapon, a sword that looked like a bat's wing set in a tangle of thorns forged by the darkness itself. Jared said it was known as a souleater. "I wiped the plains with you when we were kids, and that was before I found the power of darkness."

"Don't be an idiot, Kane," Jensen said, breathing through his nose so Kane wouldn't see how tired he was. "There is no power in darkness, only pain."

"I'll show you my power," Kane promised before he collected the force of shadows into his blade and sent the energy right into Jensen's chest.

There wasn't even time to yell before Jensen fell into a pool of nothing and lost consciousness.

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()Jensen()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()() 

 

When he woke, for the first time since the entire adventure started, it took Jensen several seconds to realize that he wasn't lying in his own bedroom back in Texas. He sat up in a comfortable bed and looked around the room. Other than the bars on the window, it could have been a room anywhere.

Jensen pushed the blankets away and brushed his hands down the pajamas he'd been dressed in. After a quick search, he found his clothing folded in one of the drawers of the dresser. He felt strong, rested, and ready to take on whatever came at him. Determination gave him a sharp focus as he studied the room.

The door was locked, but that shouldn't be any trouble at all with his keyblade. He tried to summon it, but for some reason it wouldn't come. The pathway that he usually used had been blocked off, and when he tried harder all he managed was a headache. He spent thirty minutes alternating between pleading with the keyblade and trying to force the door himself before he sank down on the floor next to the window and dropped his face in his hands.

He'd lost Jared, and he'd lost the keyblade. Jensen didn't know which one hurt more, but together, the pain was nearly enough to drag his soul down to darkness. Without at least one, he wouldn't have a chance to find Danneel or save the worlds.

The lock creaked and a second later the entire door swung open. Jensen lifted his head to see Kane walk inside. He still had on the dark robe, but his wild hair was pulled back in a ponytail, showing off his golden eyes better than before.

"Good, you're awake," Kane said, and then held his hand out to summon his weapon. For a moment, Jensen thought Kane would finish him off right there, but then he saw what was in Kane's hand. "Looking for this?"

It was the keyblade, morphed into the original settings as when it had come to him so long ago on the beaches of Texas when he'd defeated the Darkseed. King JDM's key ring dangled from the hilt, one large circle with two smaller ones attached. Jensen reached out his hand before he could stop himself.

Kane jerked away and swung the blade through the air. "It's mine now, Jensen," he said, voice smug, "It came to me because your heart is too weak. Mine is strong, and with this, I can find a way to save Danneel."

"Danneel? You found her?" Jensen asked, excitement overriding the panic at losing the keyblade. He jumped to his feet and touched Kane's shoulder, "Is she all right? Where is she?"

"Like you really care," Kane said, shrugging off Jensen's hand. He sneered up at Jensen's face and stuck his chin out, "You're too busy gallivanting around, having fun with your _new_ friends."

Jensen shook his head in denial. "Kane, I told you it wasn't like that," he said, inwardly cursing Chad for telling Kane he couldn't go with them when they'd first met. "I looked for you and Danneel. It was all I could think about."

Kane scowled and shoved Jensen into the wall, holding him in place with a hand on his chest. "Maybe, but I'm the one who found her, and I'm the one who'll find her a new heart," he promised.

"She…she lost her heart?" Jensen could feel his own heart breaking for his best friend. Danneel had always been so happy, and full of life. He couldn't imagine what she must be like without a heart, just an empty shell.

"Yes," Kane growled, but then he took a breath and dropped his hand away. "Look, you can come with me Jensen. You can help me as long as you don't get in my way."

Jensen could barely believe his ears, but one look at Kane's strange new eyes and the set of his shoulders told Jensen that Kane spoke the truth. He nearly leaped at the chance, but then he remembered that he had others to think about. "What about Chad and Jared?" he asked, still angry with them, but unwilling to ignore them.

"They're not invited," Kane said, anger creeping into his voice. He grabbed Jensen by the elbow and led him out to the hallway, not bothering to be gentle. "In fact, before you can come with me there's something you have to do."

He almost had to jog to keep up with Kane's fast pace. He knew that he probably didn't want to hear the answer, but he had to ask anyway, "What do I have to do?"

They made it to the end of the hallway, and Kane pushed open a set of doors that led out to a small courtyard. The place was full of people, but all their attention centered at the far end where a new platform stood. There, with hoods over their heads kneeled Esmeralda, Jared, and Chad chained together in position to be forced forward, their necks over the chopping block.

"You have to say goodbye to them," Kane answered, pushing Jensen forward with the tip of the keyblade. He raised his voice and yelled out over the mob noises, "Make way! Clear a path!"

Once the people saw who was trying to get through, they fell all over themselves trying to get out of Kane's way. Jensen could barely breathe; he couldn't take his eyes off the figures on the platform. Jared looked so small with his strength chained and Chad and Esmeralda didn't bother to try to stifle their shivering.

"Kane, why are you doing this?" Jensen asked, forcing himself up the stairs with Kane right behind him. He remembered a time when Kane was the gentlest of all of them, the only one able to quiet nervous colts. "This isn't you!"

"Maybe you never really knew me," Kane offered with a shrug. He exchanged glances with Frollo and then moved them to a corner while some other toady started reading the charges against them. "Say goodbye to them now, Jensen. I'll take you away before you have to see them die and we can go to Danneel. Together we can save her."

Jensen looked at his friends. Chad struggled harder, but without his wand, there wasn't any way he could break through the chains. Jared though, he could have broken the locks and freed himself if he really wanted to. Jensen frowned, and then realized that Jared must be suffering with a broken heart too, and all the strength in the world couldn't fix it.

But Jensen could.

"I'm sorry, Kane," he said, voice soft and he hoped that his friend really could hear the sorrow in his voice. "I can't go with you."

"Fuck you, Jensen!" Kane shoved him hard, and Jensen tripped, landing hard on his tailbone. Heartless popped into existence, all around them, clearly as agitated as Kane, "I don't need you. How are you going to fight me? The keyblade's mine now."

Shaking his head and his stinging palms, Jensen shrugged, "I don't know Kane, but Chad and Esmeralda are my friends just like you and Danneel are my friends, and I love Jared just like you love Danneel," he said, watching out of the corner of his eye as his three blindfolded friends heard him and started listening. "And there's no way I can leave them here. I don't care if the Heartless rip me to pieces, I'll fight with my last breath."

Kane lifted the keyblade, clearly intending to destroy Jensen before he could even get up to fight, but at the apex of his swing, the blade vibrated and they disappeared in a flash of light that made the crowd gasp and cover their eyes.

Jensen blinked and found himself holding the keyblade, returned with the keyring that Pocahontas had given him.

"No, it was mine," Kane whispered, staring at his empty hands. "I need it to save Danneel."

"Stop this, Kane! We can save her together, but you have to turn away from the darkness!" Jensen yelled, jumping to his feet.

"Never," Kane said grimly and then motioned with his hands until a doorway of darkness opened up behind him. He leaped through it before Jensen could stop him.

The Heartless chose that moment to attack, and Jensen had his hands full. He slashed his way to his friends' side and used the keyblade to break the chains holding them.

"It's about time!" Chad yelled, leaping to his feet and running over to the table where Frollo had put their weapons on display.

Jared acted slower, yanking the hood away from his face and looking up into Jensen's face with an odd expression on his face. "Did you mean it?" he asked, distractedly ducking as a Blue Rhapsody flew over his head.

"Mean what?" Jensen asked, swinging the keyblade around his head to scatter the attacking Heartless.

"That you love me?"

"Could you two possibly pick a worse time to do this?" Chad yelled, hitting Jared in the shoulder with shield as Chad started destroying Heartless with Fire. "I mean, I'm all for happy endings, but do you have to be so cliché?"

"Shut up, Chad," they said in unison.

Jensen smiled, bending over he kissed the end of Jared's nose. "I think I've kinda learned to love you, Defender," he said, using Jared's official title. For the first time, he kind of wished that a song would come along so he could shout his feelings to the world.

"Likewise, Keyblade Master," Jared grinned and jumped to his feet, shaking his hair out of his face. He grabbed the front of Jensen clothes and jerked him forward for a real kiss. "Now how about we kill these Heartless?"

"Sounds like a plan," he answered, twisting to call down Thunder on a batch of approaching Heartless. He took Jared's hand in his, and promised, "Everything's gonna be fine now, Jared. You'll see."

 

* * *

 

**Kingdom Hearts: A Soundtrack**

[The Warrior's Code](http://www.box.net/shared/s5k9ng7ac1) by Dropkick Murphys  
[Immigrant Song](http://www.box.net/shared/3id806morb) by Led Zeppelin  
[No Sleep Tonight](http://www.box.net/shared/e4qnfyzxnl) by The Faders  
[Secret In Your Eyes](http://www.box.net/shared/eua0r1u1dp) by Paul Gross &amp; David Keeley  
[The Eyes of Texas](http://www.box.net/shared/7pn4ccf6sr) by Masters of Reality  
[Accidents Will Happen](http://www.box.net/shared/mdld8svexq) by The Von Bondies  
[Undressing You](http://www.box.net/shared/4b1bx42r97) by Emma Bunton  
[This Years Love](http://www.box.net/shared/9sodg7u9a7) by David Gray  
[The Tavern Of The Temptress](http://www.box.net/shared/tf3k34y0ae) by All Left Out  
[Heavy Heart](http://www.box.net/shared/x5kgmoqhln) by You Am I  
[Candy Cane Crawl](http://www.box.net/shared/vpfol79ya5) by The Twilight Singers  
[Little By Little](http://www.box.net/shared/5izj1fqzz3) by Oasis  
[Heroic Doses](http://www.box.net/shared/6gcfkj0hkk) by Glueleg  
[Turn to Stone](http://www.box.net/shared/olu0u0u1q6) by Joe Walsh  
[Black Black Heart](http://www.box.net/shared/fo4otonstt) by David Usher  
[The Soldiering Life](http://www.box.net/shared/hkmtkvf8uc) by The Decemberists  
[With A Little Help From My Friends](http://www.box.net/shared/9nipnnh0t1) by Jim Sturgess &amp; Joe Anderson  
[The Search Is Over](http://www.box.net/shared/6uovc2y93i) by Survivor  
[Eep Opp Ork Ah-Ah (Means I Love You)](http://www.box.net/shared/mgp9y1zvs4) by Violent Femmes

 

* * *

 

  
[master post](http://chase-acow.livejournal.com/257442.html)  
[part one](http://chase-acow.livejournal.com/257037.html) // [part two](http://chase-acow.livejournal.com/256872.html)  
[one post at dreamwidth](http://chase-acow.dreamwidth.org/285760.html)  



End file.
